Newsmax readers went ballistic Tuesday after the far-right channel shared a link on X, the former Twitter, to an article that described Donald Trump’s “degrading rhetoric” at a campaign stop.
The network, a staunch Trump ally, had published a Reuters wire story on its site about Trump’s recent remarks in Grand Rapids, Michigan. But the article appeared as if it were written by Newsmax, except for a tiny copyright line at the bottom that identified it as a Reuters story.
The first sentence of the Reuters article ― “Donald Trump called immigrants illegally in the United States ‘animals’ and ‘not human’ in a speech in Michigan on Tuesday, resorting to the degrading rhetoric he has employed time and again on the campaign trail” ― appeared nearly verbatim in Newsmax’s tweet (pictured below).
Right-wing readers reacted harshly to the tweet. “Everyone block Newsmax,” one person wrote. “Newsmax is fake news trash,” another declared.
Newsmax later deleted its tweet.
The article appeared on Newsmax’s website with the headline “Trump Calls Migrants ‘Animals’ in Michigan Stop.” The story included various fact-checks that called out Trump’s fear-mongering on the border crisis. “Researchers say people living in the U.S. illegally do not commit violent crimes at a higher rate than native-born citizens,” the articles’ authors wrote.
The story also noted that “Trump frequently claims without evidence that migrants have caused a spike in violent crime in U.S. cities. On Tuesday, he repeated an unfounded claim that Latin American nations are intentionally sending their criminals into the United States.”
Newsmax’s version of the article was later edited to tone down the first sentence, removing the reference to “degrading rhetoric.” Newsmax’s version of the article also excluded some fact-checking language.
The article that now appears on Newsmax’s site begins: “Donald Trump called immigrants in the United States illegally ‘animals’ and ‘not humans’ in a speech in Michigan on Tuesday.”
HuffPost has reached out to Newsmax for comment.
On X, some incensed readers appeared unaware that the article was a Reuters story and not an original Newsmax piece, or that the text of Newsmax’s initial tweet might have been automatically generated.
The social media outrage came fast and furious before Newsmax deleted its tweet and amended its version of the Reuters story:
Support HuffPost
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
Thanks for being part of the HuffPost community! Here are our
Community Guidelines that explain the rules for creating a safe space for people to comment. Please read those guidelines -- we block people who violate our rules repeatedly. For more information or support, please visit our FAQ.